Chapter 11
Phonology
Assignment 2
Argue that the -hand and the bent version of it ( -hand) are/could be allophones. Make use of the information on pronunciation variance in Chapter 10.
The occurrence of the bent version is often predictable on the basis of other phonological or phonetic features of the sign (e.g. direction of movement; see Chapter 10.4). The bent handshape can therefore be considered an allophone or phonetic variant of the flat hand. The individual sign language has to be investigated to see if this is indeed the case.